USC & UCLA Leaving the Pac-12 for Big Ten? Looks like it!

"LOS Angeles Times - BY J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH, BILL PLASCHKE, RYAN KARTJE, JUNE 30, 2022 UPDATED 12:53 PM PT

USC and UCLA are leaving the Pac-12 for the Big Ten Conference, multiple sources confirmed to the Los Angeles Times on Thursday morning.

The schools are aiming to leave as early as 2024 and the migration is expected to include all sports except beach volleyball, men’s volleyball and men’s and women’s water polo, sources told The Times. The sources were not authorized to speak publicly about the deal.

The Trojans and Bruins have been flagship members of the West Coast’s power conference for nearly a century. Their departure to the Chicago-based Big Ten would signify a death blow to the notion of the Pac-12 as a competitive, top-level football conference and serve to bolster the Big Ten in its efforts to keep up with the Southeastern Conference, which accepted Texas and Oklahoma of the Big 12 as members last summer.

If USC and UCLA make the move official, the “Power Five” will move closer to a “Power Two” as college sports continues to reimagine its future in the era of name, image and likeness and player empowerment."

Wow, it will be interesting to see how USC and UCLA fare against MI, the (bleah) OSU, Wisconsin, etc. on a regular basis and how many, if any, other PAC teams will try to hook up with the Big 10 or other conference.